Letter to Concord Council

I am writing to express my concerns over Concord Council's changes to traffic conditions on Majors Bay Road as part of its "Town Centre Parking Trial". As a commuting cyclist who regularly rides along Majors Bay Road, I believe that the changes instituted by Council have resulted in Majors Bay Road being transformed from a safe, efficient cycling route into one that now presents very real dangers to the safety of cyclists.

Previous traffic conditions were much safer for cyclists. In particular, there were wide lanes for through traffic and a kerbside lane that could accommodate parked cars and bicycles. Cars parked parallel to the kerb and were able to easily see oncoming traffic via their side mirrors.

The new traffic conditions include several changes which seriously impact on cycling safety.

• Because road space has been reduced to permit nose/tail-to-kerb parking, there is now provision for only a single narrower through lane for all traffic. As a result, bicycles must merge with faster moving cars to pass through Concord Town Centre.

• A number of concrete islands have been installed to delimit parking areas. These concrete obstructions extend the full width of the parking area. Consequently, even if there are no parked cars, a cyclist cannot ride to the immediate left of the traffic lane because these concrete islands jut out into the cyclist's path. Essentially, each concrete island acts as a squeeze point, forcing a cyclist back into the traffic lane.

• A squeeze point has been introduced at a curve near the intersection of Majors Bay Road and Brewer St. As cars travel along Majors Bay Road past this point, a newly built traffic island suddenly narrows the road into a single lane. This forces a slower moving cyclist to try and merge into the single traffic lane. Invariably, the cyclist must stop because there is insufficient room for both a car and a bicycle to safely travel through the curve. This is a particular problem because cars are moving at speed and pass close to the apex of the curve.

• Cyclists are now less likely to be seen as cars reverse out from their parking space. Under the previous conditions, drivers were able to use their side mirrors to see approaching traffic (including cyclists). As a result of the new conditions, a motorist's vision is much more restricted. For example, it can now be obscured by other parked cars. In addition, due to the relatively small size of bicycles in comparison to cars, it will be quite easy for a cyclist to be obscured by another parked car, and then be further obscured as they pass through the reversing car's blind spot.

My assertion that Majors Bay Road presents a danger to cyclists' safety is based not only on observation, but on my own experience. I can report that following Council's changes I was almost involved in a serious accident on the evening of Monday 3-Apr-1995. It occurred as I was travelling along Majors Bay Road though Concord Town Centre (towards Queen Elizabeth Park).

Due to a combination of badly parked cars, construction barriers and concrete parking islands I was forced into the single through lane. Despite the fact that I was riding near the middle of the lane, the driver of the car that had appeared behind me decided that he could not drive at 25km/h for the twenty five seconds it would take me to pass through Concord Town Centre. Instead he pushed through on my right (this kind of aggressive driving behaviour is not atypical of my experience with Sydney drivers) and I was almost forced into the barriers. I was fortunate to escape serious injury.

You may argue that the driver should have obeyed the traffic laws. However, this would have been of little consolation to me if I had suffered a serious injury.

Please do not lose sight of the fact that cyclists are extremely vulnerable on the road and that I was forced into this position because of the narrowness of the traffic lane. This incident would not have occurred under the previous traffic conditions on Majors Bay Road when the kerbside lane was wide enough to accommodate cyclists while not impeding impatient motorists.

I believe that given the new traffic conditions on Majors Bay Road, a serious car/bicycle accident is only a matter of time. I therefore urge Council to abandon its "Town Centre Parking Trial" and return traffic conditions on Majors Bay Road to their previous state.